Historic Hotel For Sale -- Concrete

Whenever I see restaurants and bars for sale, I just have to laugh because it taps so many memories of my upbringing. I grew up in upstate NY where my parents had a "restaurant." I wouldn't consider it a restaurant, but rather a tavern. It's where men -- mostly men -- would gather at the end of their day, spending their hard-earned cash from blue-collar trades such as plumbers, mechanics, electricians -- you name it. My parents never referred to them by their real names, only "Joe the plumber," "Frank the mechanic," and "Al the carpenter." And, of course it was a quid pro quo relationship -- "Joe" would always fix our plumbing and Frank our cars. They got free beer and food in return.

Up in Concrete, Washington, where Tobias Wolff wrote a memoir on his upbringing there, is a restaurant/hotel for sale on Craigslist. I know people dream of owning a bar because they think it's fun and exciting. From personal experience, it's a lot of hard work and not so much fun, or exciting. It's actually a 24/7 experience that gets old pretty fast.